白保4号頭骨についてはベトナムの旧石器時代人骨などとの類似性が示され, 港川1号とは少々異なる形態を示すことがわかった。また、2号および3号頭骨の形態はこの4号ともまた異なることも明らかとなった。歯については, 上下顎で程度の異なる咬耗や, 複数根をもつ小臼歯などの特徴が確認された。咬耗の状態からは採食とは別の用途が示唆されるなど、旧石器時代人の生活の様相を垣間見ることができた。さらに個体同定作業や残土の水洗作業を通じて、頭骨の存在する4個体に加えて、四肢体幹骨や歯の形成不全の症状を示す個体の存在が明らかになり、今後の研究によって旧石器時代人の生活に関する新たな知見が得られるものと期待される。
It was indicated that the skull morphology of Shiraho 4 has some similarity with specimens from southern area such as Vietnam, but it is not necessarily similar to that of Minatogawa 1 which is geographically more closely placed. It was also shown that the skulls of Shiraho 2 and 3 are morphologically different from Shiraho 4, respectively. As for the dentition, several characteristics were observed such as the premolars with multiple roots, and significantly different levels of attrition seen between the upper and lower teeth of at least two individuals. The latter indicates that these people might have used their dentition for the purpose other than food preparation, such as some kind of tool. The existence of an individual with some systemic illness was revealed through thorough investigation of postcranial parts. Further research is needed to gather more information, including the etiology of this individual, to know about the actual way of life of these paleolithic people.

研究種目 : 基盤研究 (B) (一般)
研究期間 : 2018～2021
課題番号 : 18H02517
研究分野 : 自然人類学